The candidate card
Setting
General practice
Candidate
This original independent practice scenario contains fictional patient details and individual care arrangements. You are a GP seeing Ms Jerotich Kiptoo, aged 59, after repeated blood tests over five months have shown a persistent, mild reduction in kidney function, consistent with chronic kidney disease. Her results do not indicate a current need for dialysis, but the cause and future course are not yet clear. You propose urine testing, continued blood-test monitoring and a blood pressure review, with arrangements to discuss the results.
Task (interlocutor: patient)
- Find out what Ms Kiptoo understands about the diagnosis and what she fears will happen next
- Explain chronic kidney disease in simple terms and distinguish her current findings from advanced disease requiring dialysis
- Explain what further tests and monitoring can establish, acknowledging that her future kidney function cannot be predicted with certainty today
- Reassure her using the available findings without promising that the condition will never worsen
- Agree practical arrangements for testing and a results review, and check her understanding
In the test you get 3 minutes to read the card and plan, then about 5 minutes to talk. This card is original, written for this site; the interlocutor's card is not shown.
Prepare this card, then say it out loud.
Plan your opening and the tasks below. Keep these notes when you move to the AI role-play.
This original independent practice scenario contains fictional patient details and individual care arrangements. You are a GP seeing Ms Jerotich Kiptoo, aged 59, after repeated blood tests over five months have shown a persistent, mild reduction in kidney function, consistent with chronic kidney disease. Her results do not indicate a current need for dialysis, but the cause and future course are not yet clear. You propose urine testing, continued blood-test monitoring and a blood pressure review, with arrangements to discuss the results.
Getting your plan ready…
Preparation is free without an account. AI conversation and marking need sign-in; your first role-play is free. Notes are saved on this device when available. This checklist is your plan, not a score.
How to approach this card
- Begin by asking what the diagnosis means to her and which possible next step worries her most. Dialysis is a likely concern to explore, but let her describe her fears before choosing the focus of your explanation.
- Connect the diagnosis to the repeated findings over five months before discussing advanced disease. Explain that her kidneys have been working less well than usual; the word chronic describes persistence, rather than establishing how severe her condition is.
- Separate what is known from what remains uncertain: the reduction is mild, and her results do not indicate dialysis now. The cause and future course remain unclear; avoid turning a reassuring current finding into a lifelong prediction.
- Explain the purpose of urine testing, repeated blood tests and blood pressure review before discussing practical arrangements. Present these as ways to understand her condition and assess subsequent findings, without promising they will establish a definite cause or forecast.
- Close by agreeing how testing will be arranged and how results will be discussed, then invite her to explain the plan in her own words. If time runs short, prioritise her main fear, accurate reassurance and an actionable review.
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- That diagnosis can sound frightening when you first hear it.
- Would it help if I paused here?
- Which part would you like me to explain differently?
- What questions would you like to bring to our results discussion?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| chronic kidney disease | A lasting reduction in how well your kidneys work. |
| dialysis | Treatment that takes over some of the kidneys’ work. |
How this card is marked
Two assessors mark the recording on nine criteria: intelligibility, fluency, appropriateness of language and resources of grammar and expression (each 0–6), then relationship building, understanding and incorporating the patient's perspective, providing structure, information gathering and information giving (each 0–3). See the AI Speaking practice guide for what each criterion looks for.
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Questions about this role-play
How should I respond if she asks whether she will eventually need dialysis?
Answer the question directly without estimating an individual risk: her current results do not indicate a need for dialysis, but they cannot establish her future course. Allow a pause after that answer so she can respond before you introduce further information.
What if she asks whether the blood results have been getting worse?
The card describes a persistent mild reduction, not a downward trend. Do not translate persistence into deterioration or claim stability beyond the information supplied. Explain that the available description does not establish a trend, and avoid inventing individual test values.
What should I do if she asks what caused the kidney problem?
Say that the cause has not yet been established. Do not assign it to her age, blood pressure or an unmentioned condition. Ask whether she has a particular explanation in mind, so you can address that concern without endorsing an unsupported cause.
Sources
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